To Catch an Angel
by 1TheDarkEyedOne1
Summary: Angela is kidnapped by a headhunter who intends to sell her to the Praetorians.
1. Chapter 1

It was half past midnight and Angela was enjoying her usual cup of hot chamomile tea before bed. The day had been uneventful, which was a welcome relief from her usual days of being on the run. She was glad to be away from the city, even though she had spent most of her life growing up in the hustle and bustle of downtown Seattle. She had finally settled into a small town just outside of Chicago, it was quaint and felt like it had been left behind in the Victorian era. The people were very friendly and and the community was small and private enough that she could blend in without worrying about the praetorians finding her. She knew it would take her a while to be able to let down her guard, to actually relax for once, but she hoped it might become normal for her once again. There was always a struggle within her, one side that wanted peace in this lifetime and another that could not rest after all she knew about the praetorians and their control over what seemed like the entire world.

She decided she wanted a rest. She could pick up the fight again, but for now she needed respite, some time to gather herself. Sorcerer had agreed to cut off communication with her as a precaution. She knew he never intended to put her in harms way but it was a lot to ask of her to always be the one to face the praetorians with him being safely hidden behind the scenes. It had taken it's toll on her physically and emotionally. She wondered if Trelawney would ever stop hunting her, and if he'd be able to find her even here in this remote little town.

Angela didn't want to think about it. She finished the last sip of her tea and settled into bed. It felt nice to be in an actual bed; not a couch, a cot in a shelter or even the horrible beds in the cheap motels she would occasionally have to hide out in. A real bed, and it was HER bed inside HER apartment. Angela pondered all the things she had taken for granted before, simple things like this.

The night had an eerie ambiance ripe for visions and nightmares. She could hear the autumn wind howling outside her window and the newly fallen leaves dancing upon the cobblestone. The street lamps cast long shadows across Angela's window, more than once she imagined she seen something more there than trees. She knew it was her anxiety causing her to see things that weren't real and she was so exhausted it wasn't long before she drifted off to sleep, the deepest sleep she had had in a long time.

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Angela awoken suddenly, she felt as if something had startled her awake but she could not remember if it was something in her dream or something real. She looked around in the darkness and did not see anything amiss in her room. She got up and went to the window, peering out to the street below. It was quiet and still. She guessed it must have been a nightmare which woke her, It certainly wasn't an unusual occurrence these days.

She closed the blinds and turned to go back to sleep. When Angela turned she was suddenly filled with terror at the sight of a shadowy male figure between her and the bed. Angela went to let out a scream, but the figure rushed her and had her mouth muffled before she even had a chance to make a sound. She struggled to break free from the intruder but he had a firm grip on her. Angela threw wild punches and kicks and was finally successful in landing a swift kick to his shin, disabling him long enough for her to run.

She darted towards the door but before she could make it the man had already seized her once again and she landed hard on the floor. Before she could even turn to fight him, he had a rag pressed tightly over her mouth, one she quickly realized was soaked in chloroform. Angela let out a muffled cry as she felt her consciousness drift away.


	2. Chapter 2

Angela awakens in a dark basement. Her eyes dart around for any sign of her attacker, but there is only cold darkness and the occasional sound of water dripping from the old overhead pipes. She finds herself on a small dank bed that looks like it is from an old asylum. Angela tries to move but realizes her hands have been tied to the posts of the headboard. She struggles to try and free her wrists from the restraints but is startled when she hears an electronic sound from the upper corner of the room. She hadn't noticed the camera mounted on the ceiling in the dim lighting. Who was watching her? and how long had she been there?

Angela's fear started to turn to anger. She wanted answers. She began shouting to the camera, not sure if anyone was on the other side to hear her. The only reaction she got was a rhythmic electronic blinking light and silence. After a few minutes she gave up and slumped back against the iron headboard, the cold bars pressing uncomfortably into her back. She hoped this entire night was a dream, maybe it was another one of her nightmares.

Just then Angela heard a distant metal door open with a creaky groan followed by footsteps. A well dressed man entered from the dark corridor.

"Well, look who's awake..." the mysterious man said as he smoothed his overcoat, stopping at the foot of Angela's bed.

"Who are you...?" Angela observed the man standing before her, wondering if he was another praetorian. He certainly looked the part.

"Who I am is not important Angela. You see, all you need to know is I am a business man. A business man rather gifted at certain tactics...Let's see, how should I put it?..." The man stroked his chin and smiled. I offer... "resource gathering solutions."

"What the hell are you talking about!?" Angela questioned with a tone of anger and frustration in her voice.

"Well it's really rather simple my dear. I'm an opportunistic headhunter. See, I've been tracking you for some time now, ever since I caught wind the praetorians had you at the top of their wish list...I'm willing to guess they'll pay handsomely to have you delivered right into their hands." The man's smile now spread from ear to ear, no doubt with his imagining of the riches he would soon be enjoying.

"You are insane! You captured me to sell me to the praetorians? Do you really think they are going to give you a penny? They are ruthless and will simply kill us both after they get the information they need."

"True, but there is one praetorian whom you mean more to... I'm willing to bet he would accept my terms to have you in his personal possession..."

"Trelawney..." Angela murmured under her breath.

"Yes...He is rather fond of you. Perhaps too much for his own good." The man turned and started to pace around Angela's bed.

"Trelawney is dangerous and you are going to get yourself killed!" Angela yelled, but received no reaction from the man.

"Please let me go...Angela pleaded. He's not going to give you what you want, you have to believe me. He's going to kill you. They are dangerous people, you have no idea what you've brought upon yourself."

"Silence!" The man yelled as he lunged at Angela grabbing her by the hair and pulling her head back. Angela panicked as the man reached into his coat, pulling out a knife.

"I wonder if you'd be worth the same amount to him dead? Maybe I should send him a memento so he takes me seriously..."Angela screams as he cuts a piece of her hair off. The man let's out a wicked laugh.

"Do you really think you will get away with this?" Angela sobs, horrified by the man's actions. "If you think for one second..."

"Enough!"..."Playtime is over darling, I have work to do." The man walks over to a table and picks up a roll of duct tape. He tears off a large piece and places it firmly over Angela's mouth.

"You be a good girl or else I'll be sending you to Trelawney in pieces..."

The man exits the room, locking the large metal door behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

Sean Trelawney is sitting at his desk, surveying files related to a covert military operation he is currently leading up. "There can be no mistakes this time..." he says to himself. Completely absorbed in his work, he fails to notice Mr. Olivier enter the room.

"Trelawney"

Somewhat startled, he turns to face the chairman who has a look on his face of grimace mixed with concern. "Yes, Mr. Chairman?"

"We just received a rather troubling message... it seems an extortionist has somehow "acquired" our Ms. Bennett." the chairman said, raising an eyebrow and readjusting his hold on his walking cane.

Trelawney's eyes grow wide. "Acquired?"... "Where is she being held?"

"If we knew that we'd have her already Trelawney" the Chairman remarked, turning to look out Trelawney's office window onto the main floor of the praetorian headquarters.

Trelawney looked down at his desk, his eyes shifting back and forth in deep thought.

"We are holding a video conference meeting with this man in an hour, we need to formulate a plan on how to deal with him. He has a valuable asset, but he thinks he's holding all the aces. We must take control of the situation..." The chairman turns to Trelawney whom is still in contemplation.

He looks up at the chairman, as if awakened from a spell. "Rest assured Mr. Olivier, I will rectify this situation..." A dark and bitter grin forms across his face.

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Trelawney slowly paced back and forth in his office when a voice comes over his intercom requesting his presence in the conference hall.

Trelawney enters and takes his place at the table alongside the other leaders of the praetorians. He addresses them in his usual cool demeanor, attempting to mask his feelings of concern with stoic indifference, something he'd gotten very good at over the years. He can't remember the last time he let any tender feeling slip through and make him appear weak. That was how he got where he was, by being cool and calculated. There was no place in his world for feelings, at least that was what he used to think until he met her.

She had compromised everything, making him feel things he didn't want to. At first it was just a physical attraction to her, something simple he could just call "lust". But after a while he started to feel things beyond that like affection, tenderness, longing...She would haunt him day and night, he could not stop thinking about her. Pursuing her became an obsession he cleverly disguised as unwavering obedience to the organization. But in truth, he wanted to capture her for himself.

Trelawney's contemplations of Angela are interrupted when the man appears upon the giant conference video screen.

"Well, a formal meeting. Does this mean the praetorians are ready to take my offer seriously?" The man gloats with a satisfied smile.

"Where's the girl?" Trelawney asks with audible agitation in his voice.

"So hasty... First, you will agree to my terms and conditions...and most importantly, my price"

"Our organization does not make deals with extortionists, especially amateurs..." Trelawney sneered.

"If I am such an amateur, then why do I have within my possession the woman your entire organization has not been able to capture? I believe even you have failed at retaining her, Mr. Trelawney."

Mr. Olivier interrupts "Why should we even believe you have Angela? Stop wasting our time and show us the girl if what you say is true"

"My pleasure Mr. Olivier, see for yourself..." The video feed cuts to Angela, whom is still in her night gown tied to the iron bed in the basement.

"She's quite lovely, it would be a shame if we cannot reach an agreement. You have 24 hours to get me 30 million dollars. After that, her condition becomes less... desirable..."

Trelawney, now visibly upset at seeing Angela tries to mask his inner conflict. "We won't pay for damaged goods... No harm is to come to her." Trelawney orders with glaring eyes.

"The condition I deliver her in is entirely up to you, Trelawney." " Contact me when you have the money..." The screen goes black, Trelawney's scowl still frozen where the man was a moment ago.

Mr. Hearney breaks the silence, "Maybe we should just let him kill her, do we really need this girl? Perhaps he'd be doing us a favor..."

Trelawney turns sharply to him "Angela Bennett is our one key to Sorcerer...We lose her, we lose any chance of finding him."

"Maybe we can use this situation to our advantage..." Mr. Olivier muses aloud, as he strokes his chin and gazes off into the distance in deep thought. "If Sorcerer knows Angela has been captured and where she is being held, we may be able to bring him out of hiding. When he attempts to rescue her, we can capture him and Angela at the same time."

"That's an intriguing idea sir, but we still have no idea ourselves where she is." says Trelawney.

"That's why we let Sorcerer figure that out for us, Trelawney. Angela is only important to us for the information she has about Sorcerer. We figure out a way to get this extortionist on an unsecured transmission that is open to trace and Sorcerer will surely track him down for us. He will try to save her, and even if he fails and Angela dies, we still get the Sorcerer. He's all we need, and this situation may deliver him straight into our hands." Mr. Olivier says with an expression of satisfaction.

"sir...I..." Trelawney interjects

"Yes, Trelawney?" the chairman says with irritation in his voice.

"I believe Angela Bennett holds more value to us than just in finding Sorcerer. Her advanced skills could be a powerful asset to us..."

"What makes you think she'd ever agree to join us Mr. Trelawney?" Mr. Olivier sneered.

"I can be very...persuasive, sir" Trelawney states with a smug grin.

"Yes, and that has worked out so well in the past with her, hasn't it?..." Mr. Olivier sarcastically scoffed.

Trelawney, defeated, overts his gaze downward.

"We sacrifice the girl if necessary Trelawney! End of discussion..." Mr. Olivier orders as he abruptly stands and exits the conference room.

The rest of the praetorians stand and follow behind the chairman. Each giving a glance to Trelawney before exiting. Trelawney is left alone in the conference room, deep in conflicting thought as to what he should do next.


End file.
